by any other name
by Risuka
Summary: Harry James Potter will never have a normal life.


**Disclaimer****:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Author****'****s**** Note****:** This is almost an entire subversion of canon. There is an additional warning that I will not reveal. I will simply apologize in advance for those who do not like, but it is meant to be a surprise to everyone, including the characters. Also there is a direct quote from J. K. Rowling in the form of the prophecy.

**by**** any ****other**** name**

Unknown to all of the witches and wizards of the world, Fate was a fickle mistress. She was never predictable and seldom kept her promises. Those who were smart distrusted her and her constant companions, the seers. To those smart people, seers were self-important fools who believed that, just because their intuition predicted the correct outcome once in a while, they were trusted with Fate's secrets. Fate trusted no one. More importantly, Fate had a propensity for revenge; and when she saw arrogant people making a mockery of her work, Fate _loved_ to play games.

Sybill Trelawney made Fate especially angry. She spewed false prophecies to all who would listen - or sometimes, even to those who would not. She relied upon the stars, tea leaves, crystal balls - all physical mediums. Inanimate objects knew nothing of her future! Fate gifted only the human heart and brain with the ability to predict the future. And so, Fate decided to punish her. She would allow this women her moment of fame and glory; she would predict the downfall of the most powerful wizard ever, but Fate would lead her to the wrong child and Trelawney, in turn, would place the fate (excuse her pun) of the Wizarding World upon the wrong boy!

Fate smiled and Sybill Trelawney's crystal ball twinkled brightly as she sat in front of Albus Dumbledore.

::: ::: :::

_"__The __one __with __the__ power __to__ vanquish__ the__ Dark__ Lord __approaches__... __Born__ to __those __who__ have__ thrice__ defied__ him__, __born __as__ the __seventh__ month__ dies__... __And __the __Dark__ Lord__ will__ mark__ him __as__ equal__, __but __he__ will __have__ power __the__ Dark __Lord__ knows __not__... __And __either__ must__ die__ at__ the__ hands __of__ the __other __for__ neither__ can __live__ while __the__ other __survives__..."_

::: ::: :::

Lily smiled comfortably, resting her entire weight against James as he caressed the rather large bump of her pregnant stomach. Her little boy, according to the mediwitches at St Mungo's, was reasonably behaved inside her stomach. He rarely kicked or moved around, which would have worried her but for the fact that he kicked whenever she did magic. A little swish-and-flick of her wand made little Harry wriggle around so much that she could hardly leave the loo for the next hour. After all, Lily used the loo frequently in the first place; using magic for Harry made it that much worse. She knew how horrible a pregnancy could be though; she was lucky. Alice Longbottom, one of her best friends in the world, had the most horrible time. She was in the hospital weekly for check-ups to make sure her blood pressure and blood sugar remained at healthy levels, she suffered from nausea each day for _months_, and she had the energy of a sloth!

Both of them had the most wonderful husbands in the world as well. Frank and James were known for their callous, unthinking moments, but she and Alice loved them all the same. One time, Lily overheard the two of them talking. James said, "Lily has the most horrible temper! She's good at Charms, you know; she had me on the other half of a Tickling Charm for an hour."

Frank laughed and replied, "I'm sure Alice would be the same way, but she's too tired to get angry!"

After subjecting both of them to an hour under the Tickling Charm, though she was sure Alice would have loved to punish Frank herself, Lily never heard another word about her bad temper from either of them.

::: ::: :::

"It's a healthy baby girl, Mrs Potter!" Healer Smethwyck smiled brightly at her as he allowed James to cut through the crying baby's umbilical cord. Lily took her little girl from the healer's hands in shock, cradling her in her arms. For the past four months, she was under the impression her baby would be a little boy, and now she held the most beautiful baby girl in her arms. There were all ten fingers, all ten toes, and a little nose.

Lily looked at the healer, panicked. "We were told our baby would be a boy. We haven't even _looked_ at names for girls!"

James came around to her side and squeezed her shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Lily. We can always wait to name her. A lot of parents end up doing it."

She stared down at her baby. Her baby stared back up at her with eyes identical to her own. "No," Lily murmured. "You are my little Harry, aren't you? I can't just decide to name you something else because you're a girl." Harry giggled happily. "What do you think, James?"

He grinned at her. "If that's what you think will make her happiest, then let's do it." James leaned down to kiss them both on the head. "Besides, why wouldn't she want to have my name?" He preened.

"You arrogant git," she retorted, laughing.

::: ::: :::

"Frank, Alice, I believe that the two of you need to chose a Secret Keeper for the Fidelius Charm. Neville is in grave danger from Voldemort due to the prophecy. You are much too vulnerable without absolute secrecy." Dumbledore stood in the kitchen of the Longbottom household in late October, holding a small slip of parchment in his hand.

Alice glanced fearfully to her husband. "What are you talking about? Is this why no one has seen Lily and James in months?"

"I'm afraid so. I fear for the safety of both families, of course, but you must pay heed to the prophecy. I am now positive that Neville is the one." He handed them the slip of parchment, which held the contents of the prophecy. Frank glared down at it before turning his gaze to Dumbledore.

"How long have you had this?"

Dumbledore sighed. "The prophecy has been in my possession for little more than a year, but that is not the point! You _must_ protect the safety of yourself and your child. _Pick__ a__ Secret__ Keeper_! Remember, it must be someone you trust with your life."

Frank ran a hand through his hair. "Well, Dorcas is your best friend, Alice. We can trust her."

"Yes... Wouldn't she be a little obvious though? Besides, she's still shaken about her Death Eater abduction in May. What about Peter Pettigrew? He's engaged to Dorcas, so we can surely trust him too!" Alice smiled hopefully up at her husband."

He grinned at her. "That's a wonderful idea, sweetheart! We'll perform the charm in the morning, isn't that right, Albus?"

Nodding, Dumbledore adjusted his glasses. "I'll inform Peter of your recommendation immediately. I'm sure he'll be pleased."

::: ::: :::

Bellatrix grinned triumphantly as she circled James, who stood suspended in air, staring reproachfully down at her. "How does it feel, little Auror, to know that our Lord is upstairs with your wife and your little baby girl, doing _whatever __he__ wants_ with them?"

"You and Voldemort are _disgusting_," he spat in her face.

The back of her hand connected with his face, followed by the sound of her whispering angrily, "How _dare_ you speak the Dark Lord's name? A filthy blood-traitor like you!"

"_Voldemort_ is no better than we are! _Voldemort_ is the scum of the Earth," James continued defiantly.

Bellatrix laughed insanely as she backed away from him. "You have no idea what you're talking about, ickle James Potter. So _naive_." She held out her wand. "I'll teach you who the _real_ scum is. _Cruc__-!_" And an agonized scream rang merrily through her ears. Her eyes widened fearfully as she stared at the silent James. "What did that little wench of yours _do_?"

"_Avada __Kedavra_!" she finished maliciously without a second thought to torturing him and ran upstairs to her Lord. The Dark Lord was nowhere to be found in the little room, but Lily Potter remained curled protectively around her little girl, a little girl with a lightning bolt scar on her forehead. Bellatrix raised her wand to the little girl, but she knew the fate her Lord had suffered. She lowered her wand and fled from the Potters' household.

::: ::: :::

Petunia Dursley yawned greatly as she opened the door on that Monday morning. As she stepped out onto her doorstep, she stretched, and then looked down peculiarly at her feet. Petunia gazed at the little girl lying on her doorstep, wrapped in a bundle of blankets with a small letter attached to it. _From__ Albus__ Dumbledore __to__ Petunia__ Dursley_, she read, and her good mood turned immediately soured.

_Finis__._


End file.
